How a Great Resume can Help New Grads Score their First Job
You have spent the past four years living off Ramen Noodles and driving a ten year old rust bucket just to ensure that you reach the point you are at now – a new college grad ready to enter the workforce, shiny new degree in hand. You got good grades and all your professors loved you – so why aren’t prospective employers clamoring for your services?
Your resume may not be helping. The problem is that employers want to know what you can do for them and are just not all that interested in what you did in school, so you need to tailor your resume to convince them that all that experience you gained in school and all that knowledge really does transfer to the workplace. Some tips:
State your Goals – As a new graduate your resume has to feature a good, targeted objective statement. Whether you add a formal objective section or reference it in a qualifications summary is up to you, but whichever you choose avoid the kind of flowery jargon laden nonsense that too many new college grads tend to use. Investing a few dollars to have a resume writing service come up with a good one for you is a wise move if you are not sure how to put your aspirations into words.
Highlight the Positive – If you have little in the way of real world work experience your academic achievements should be highlighted in as positive a way as possible. And that doesn’t just mean stating your GPA, or mentioning the fact that you made the Dean’s list (although that certainly won’t hurt) Did you do an internship while you were in school? If so make sure you mention it. Did you win Employee of the month at the restaurant you were waiting tables at to pay the bills? Mention that too. Although the job duties may not be related to the job you are chasing now such things do go some way to demonstrating your worth as an employee in general.
Pick the Right Format – A traditional chronological resume format, which emphasizes employment history, rarely works well for a new college graduate. A functional resume, which highlights all those academic achievements and unique skills that you can bring to the table will be far more successful. Again, if you are not sure that you have done a great job by yourself consider hiring someone to do take your rough draft and polish it into a resume that will really help you land that all important first job.
Reasons Why You Aren’t Getting Hired
Have you been on dozens of interviews but still have no job to call your own, even though you thought everything went well every time you sat down with a potential employer? If you really have not made any huge interview faux pas there may be other, slightly less obvious reasons why you job search is taking longer than you had hoped:
Job Descriptions – Read it properly. Do you really meet all the criteria? In years past, when there were plenty of jobs to go around a few extra years’ experience could compensate for a lack of skill in a certain area but in a tight job market that is simply no longer the case. If you find yourself discounting (or losing out on) job opportunity after job opportunity because you cannot meet one certain criteria don’t just give up, do something about it.
Words mean a Lot – It is one thing to have a resume that is free of grammar and spelling errors but if that resume is full of “jargon” chances are it is hurting your chances of landing a job every bit as much as a resume that is grammatically incorrect as a first graders English essay. Use keywords yes, they catch the recruiters eye but do not stuff your resume full of incomprehensible nonsense.
Wrong Fit – Your interview suit is killer, you meet every point in the job description and your resume would make Bill Gates blush, but you still don’t get the job. Unfortunately there really is no perfect recipe for getting hired. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of personality or a clash with the unstated corporate culture. You just don’t fit and you will probably never even know why. . It’s all perfectly legal (if a little sad) but the point to remember it’s not you, its them.
Unreal Expectations – Are you simply aiming too high? Are you still sitting in the backyard at home scoring the classifieds for the perfect job while the bills mount up? We would all love to snag our dream job but the fact is you have to settle for one that is good enough. No one says that you have to go to work in McDonalds if you were previously a NASA engineer but you do need to be willing to make a few compromises if you want to end upon somebody’s payroll.
Top Five Things that Will Annoy your Interviewer
Even though many people read article after article about what they should and shouldn’t do at an interview, read up on the company they hope to join and spend a small fortune on a new interview outfit there are still some very common things that many of these candidates do or say during an interview that drives the person conducting it nuts. Annoying your interviewer is never a good idea, so here are the top five things you must not do to avoid ruling yourself out of the running, however impressive your resume (or that new suit)might be:
Too Much of a Good Thing – Preparing to go on an interview is not like preparing to go on a date. Your beau may love that expensive perfume you wear but your interviewer may not. Not only might they be allergic (a lot of people are) but human beings tend to equate certain smells with specific memories so if you show up slathered in the same cologne as your interviewer’s terrible ex used to wear she may subconsciously mark you as doubtful right away.
Clamming Up – An interview candidate who simply won’t talk, or who answers each query with a “yes, no or maybe” really frustrates many interviewers. Most interviewers these days ask deliberately open ended questions in order to try to learn as much as they can about the candidate in the short timespan they have. Go to your interview prepared to speak and keep a question or two in mind yourself when the inevitable ‘Now it’s your turn to ask questions,’ line comes up at the conclusion of your interview.
Using Slang – Even if an interviewer may occasionally use slang themselves in their everyday lives (and most of us do from time to time) they do not want to hear at an interview. Another big interviewer’s pet peeve? Candidates who say “like” or “uh” in every second sentence.
Lack of Eye Contact – You probably are very nervous but avoiding making eye contact with your interviewer because of that fact just does not give the right impression at all. If you really have problems maintaining direct eye contact with someone in tense situations try focusing on his third eye, just above and between the person’s two eyes.
Little White Lies – Every candidate wants to impress their interviewer but lying – even if they are little white lies or slight exaggerations – is never the way to do it. Do not be tempted to over embellish your accomplishments or leave certain things out that you should have revealed, since even if the interviewer does not catch it (which many experienced ones will very easily) chances are that a background check will.
Job Ads Decoded
Most of us know that online dating profiles are written in a special language that if you take the time to decipher it tells you a little more about the person posting it than they may have intended. The same holds true for some job descriptions. Decoding some of the language you encounter as you search for the right position may help you get a better idea about what you really might be in for. A basic primer:
“Great growth opportunities” – This line comes most often from smaller and startup companies whose dreams tend to be a little larger than their budgets. Roughly translated this phrase often means “if you work for us for 60 hours a week, for less than you were looking for, you may get to exercise some stock options when we go public.”
Before you consider a job like this think carefully. If it is in a field you truly love and your lifestyle can accommodate a little belt tightening it may very well be worth going for. If you need a little more stability though, growth opportunities don’t mean a lot if the company goes belly up in a year.
“Ability to Work Independently Essential “– Sometimes this phrase can be an indication that there is a lack of actual leadership at the company and that new employees have to be able to fend for themselves. For some people this might be a dream come true, no boss breathing down your neck every five minutes. If you snag an interview try to glean from your interviewer what the real day to day responsibilities of the position are. If she doesn’t seem to know (generate media coverage is not a good answer for instance) that’s a sure sign that you’d have to figure out most of it yourself.
“Flexible on Work Hours” – Although it is not always the case this line often means that the prospective employer wants you to be flexible, not the company. And by flexible they mean the willingness to come in on a Sunday afternoon on two hours’ notice or work long into the night to get a project finished. In other words they want you to accommodate them, not the other way around.
Do Resume Gimmicks Ever Pay Off?
Job seekers hear, read and see so much advice about what to include on their resume, as well as what not to, that you might think that most people have a pretty good idea of how to write a great resume by now. However, as demonstrated by a recent Career Builder study that is not always the case. Human resources professionals were asked to submit the strangest resume inclusions they had ever encountered. Some of them were obvious ploys to grab the recruiter’s attention, while others? Who knows. Here are some of the best (or is that the worst?)
- A female candidate included a letter of recommendation – from her mother.
- A candidate explained (as he should) the reason for a gap in his employment history. He took three months out to mourn the death of his cat.
- Another candidate tackled the always sticky issue of a criminal record. He stole a pig, but it was, he went on to assure recruiters, only a really small pig.
- A gentleman listed one of his hobbies ( a no no these days in itself) as sitting on a levee at night watching the alligators.
All very funny, but in a job market that is still rather tight do gimmicks (and humor) actually work when you are trying to stand out from the masses? Once in a while you will hear a tale or read a news story about how a clever trick piqued a recruiter’s interest and helped the poor candidate get the job but in the real world it’s rare. On the whole whatever the industry, such things will not get you job. More likely you will become an anecdote for the recruiter you targeted to share after dinner at some future event (or to share with a national survey) but that will do little for your personal career prospects.
Here Come the Grads – What does the Future Hold for the Class of 2010?
Throughout the months of May and June there is an excitement on college campuses across the country that is unmatched by any other in academic life (except for maybe $1 beer night) as thousands of students get ready to leave their school books behind and graduate into the “real world”.
Heady times indeed, but what kind of job market can the Class of 2010 expect to walk into? According to a recent survey conducted by NACE (the National Associate of Colleges and Employers) their prospects are not as gloomy as one might think, given the current economic climate.
According to that survey in 2010 44 percent of the employers questioned do intend to hire college graduates. Last year 43 percent said the same thing so the good news is that the number went up (even if ever so slightly) rather than down. These same employers do admit however that they intend to scale back the compensation packages they offer to new grads though.
So what does the new college graduate need on their resume to put them ahead of the competition and land their first “real world’ job? Of the employers surveyed a massive 62% said that the candidate having completed some form of internship would be impress them greatly with only 31% caring about the level of class work a student had maintained over the course of their academic career.
When asked about what they personally might look for when interviewing graduates the top answer was a candidate that comes to the interview well prepared, asks intelligent questions and has some knowledge about the company that they are hoping to work for. In other words, exactly what they are looking for from any potential new hire.
So the bottom line is that there will be jobs out there for the Class of 2010, as long as they are willing to put as much work into finding the right one as they were their lessons over the last four years.
Outgrown your Job Description? How to Get the Recognition You Deserve
So, you have been in your new position for a while now, you are settling in nicely but it seems that you are handling duties that go well above and beyond your original job description. The problem is that nobody – especially your boss- has seemed to notice or acknowledge all this extra effort. You are now simmering with resentment and you are determined to gain some of the recognition you deserve, preferably with a new title and a raise. But what is the best way to go about doing so? Some advice:
Make a List – Before you do anything else make a list of all the extra responsibilities you have taken on and all the time that you are putting in on these new projects. Perhaps you have begun orientating new employees and that is taking up a certain amount of your time every week now. Calculate how much time that is exactly and note it down. You should also get down on paper the amount of time you spend performing the tasks you were originally hired to do.
Invent Your New title – Have a second look at your list of extra responsibilities. Does it look similar to that of a fellow employee who has a “higher” title than the one you have? If so, you should note that down too. If you do not see anybody else with remotely the same responsibilities as you currently have invent a title that you think might be appropriate to more accurately describe your real roll in the company.
A Word about Money – A new title is great, but with it should come a new salary structure as well. Have a look at a few job classifieds or salary comparison websites . How much more does your desired new title make you worth?
Taking it to the Top – Once all of this preparation is complete the time has to come to request a formal meeting with your boss to discuss it all. Let her know in advance what you propose to discuss so that she can allot you a reasonable amount of her time instead of fitting you in between phone calls.
In the end it is up to you, and you alone to look out for yourself at work and take the initiative to ask for the recognition you deserve. Chances are that your boss may be so busy herself she has barely had time to notice how far your job duties have expanded. Present your case in a clear, calm manner and you should stand a great chance of getting what you want.
Preparing for a Performance Review
Do you remember when you were a kid how you felt when report card time came around? If it was good you could possibly look forward to praise from your parents and possibly a little treat. A bad one however probably meant more than a little trouble so there were butterflies in your stomach as you handed that envelope over to Mom and Dad.
A performance review at work can bring all of those memories and feelings flooding back. A good review could set your career on fire, a bad one who knows? So it’s just like being back in high school all over again.
In the case of performance reviews though there are certain things you can do to make sure that you are prepared for your workplace review and you are ready to handle whatever comes of it.
Self-evaluation is a good tool. Critique your recent job performance as honestly as you can. Are you really putting in 100% or have you been slacking off recently? If you are honest with yourself about the way you have been working then you will probably be better equipped to handle any criticism your boss might throw your way during the review.
10 Resume Mistakes
There are several schools of thought on the best way to write a resume that is right for today’s business climate but there are some things that the vast majority of hiring managers from all industries agree should not be on a good resume. The top ten?
- Spelling and grammar errors – Do not be careless enough to send out a resume with spelling errors and grammar faux pas. Attention to detail is essential!
- Canned opening objectives – Using a generic objective will most likely be ignored – the hiring manager has seen it already.
- Listing personal attributes – Some people still insist on including things like their height, weight and other personal information. Unless you are a model or an actress such things should never, ever be on your resume.
- Interests and hobbies – Unless they pertain to the job you are being interviewed for leave these off.
- The minute details of every job you ever had – Hiring managers are looking for a brief synopsis of your experience not a blow by blow account of your days as a cashier.
- Too much bragging – Listing your accomplishments is important but if the wording goes over the top and starts to sound like you are bragging it can be a huge turn-off.
- Outdated information – If it has been more than 15 years since you left a job you should might wan to leave it off your resume. Assuming it is not very relevant to the position you are seeking now.
- False information – Stating you have a BS when it is really an Associate’s degree may seem like just a little white lie but making false statements on your resume can blow up in your face. Most employers these days do background checks and if you are exposed as a liar you can instantly kiss the job goodbye, even if you have already received an offer letter.
- Unexplained gaps in work history – Many people have these but they are something that most hiring managers notice right away. Choose your words carefully in explaining them on paper though. The hiring manager does not need to know specifics right now. If you state “left for personal reasons” they can then ask for more detail later if they need to.
- Lack of professionalism – Brightly colored or patterned paper, cutesy fonts and silly childish email addresses all turn hiring managers off right away. The chances of it getting read all the way through are slim.
Tax Time Tips for Job Hunters
Job hunting can be a strenuous and sometimes downright depressing but, it does have its advantages when it comes to tax season. Knowing what you can (and cannot) deduct when it comes to filing is important. Here are a few pointers:
Travel Expenses – Traveling to interviews can take a real bite out of your budget but, much of it can be claimed back on your taxes. There are some rather confusing IRS rules you have to keep in mind though. If the sole purpose of your trip is to obtain new employment then everything – flight, meals, hotel rooms – can be deducted. However, if you went to Hawaii on vacation and decided it was so wonderful you cannot imagine leaving and then decide to look for a job, none of the expenses are deductible. Reason being the original purpose of your trip was pleasurable in nature. However, you can still deduct the cost of actually getting to the interviews (bus, rental car, etc.)
